Auto Post Google Alerts

I will no longer be supporting this hack as 3.6.x supports feeds, making this hack obsolete.

This hack will automatically post to a forum of your choice, as a user of your choice, any Google alert received. In fact, it should work for any alert service.

If you do not know what Google Alerts are, see this page:

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

Requirements:

A POP email box to receive Google Alerts.

Install is simple. Upload the PHP file, install the product, define the settings in adminCP, test, and set up a scheduled task in the adminCP then:

Click Install

You can limit who can post alerts by restricting domains allowed to email the POP box. I advise you use a secret, previously unused POP box/email address. Any mail in the POP box that is not in the domain list is deleted, otherwise it is posted.

I will offer support as I can here, or in the forum at my website at www.worldwidecreations.com

This modification is FREE of charge, but if you wish to reward me for my work, and encourage future modifications by me, please donate below:

[Jafo232]

Originally Posted by bashy

Hi

I am 99% sure i done this right....
When i run the script it says

Loading Directly.
done processed 0 of 0 mails

Even though i have run the test and have sent an email to the address used...

I know my domain has pop and i have inserted the mail.*****.com into the domian box, is this correct?

If you want to test this first, here is what you do.. Use a mail client like outlook to check the POP box and make sure email is arriving to it. If you know how to, set the option on the mail client to NOT delete mail when it retrieves it.

This way at least you can validate that mail is actually arriving to the mailbox.

Also, MAKE SURE, no other mail client is accessing the same box, otherwise, it will delete the mail before the script can get it.

[bashy]

Cheers for that, I forgot to keep mail on server...
Right...its processed the email now but didnt post it in the forum specified.
Does it not do this yet or should it have done it?

Like i said, it processed it and deleted it from the mailbox lol

Originally Posted by Jafo232

If you want to test this first, here is what you do.. Use a mail client like outlook to check the POP box and make sure email is arriving to it. If you know how to, set the option on the mail client to NOT delete mail when it retrieves it.

This way at least you can validate that mail is actually arriving to the mailbox.

Also, MAKE SURE, no other mail client is accessing the same box, otherwise, it will delete the mail before the script can get it.

[AN-net]

possible security problem...could someone with malicious intent fake the domain from which the emails come from. giving an authorized person access to post on your forums what ever content they want. i remember some at vb.com telling me that using a domain from an email came from is unreliable since it can be easily modified. it was for my suggestion on alternative to email confirmations but them sending emails to confirm themselves.

[Jafo232]

Originally Posted by bashy

Cheers for that, I forgot to keep mail on server...
Right...its processed the email now but didnt post it in the forum specified.
Does it not do this yet or should it have done it?

You must make sure that the user ID is correct, and that user has permissions to post to the forum ID you specified.

Make sure you are using ID's here and NOT names. It is a numeric value.

[Jafo232]

Originally Posted by AN-net

possible security problem...could someone with malicious intent fake the domain from which the emails come from. giving an authorized person access to post on your forums what ever content they want. i remember some at vb.com telling me that using a domain from an email came from is unreliable since it can be easily modified. it was for my suggestion on alternative to email confirmations but them sending emails to confirm themselves.

Yes of course, which is why you must keep the mailbox secret so only google (and yourself) knows the email address.

You could also setup something in say Spamassassin that will verify email comes from where it says it comes from, but to me that seems to be a bit overkill.

The content posted, can only be posted in the forum you choose. No user can actually spoof the identity as far as logging in and changing anything.

Is it 100% secure? No. Can anything malicous be done with it? I doubt it. If you are really worried about it, set the user so everything they post is moderated.

[bashy]

I am using my ID which is 1 so i couldnt have gone wrong there really lol
Also there forum id is deffo correct!!

Your hack is processing the email and not posting it, but deleteing it from the mailbox!

Originally Posted by Jafo232

You must make sure that the user ID is correct, and that user has permissions to post to the forum ID you specified.

Make sure you are using ID's here and NOT names. It is a numeric value.

[Jafo232]

Originally Posted by bashy

I am using my ID which is 1 so i couldnt have gone wrong there really lol
Also there forum id is deffo correct!!

Your hack is processing the email and not posting it, but deleteing it from the mailbox!

Are you sure you entered the correct setting in the domains? What does the script say when it does retrieve the email?

[bashy]

hi..

It says

Loading Directly.
Ignoring ntlworld.com
done processed 1 of 1 mails

Originally Posted by Jafo232

Are you sure you entered the correct setting in the domains? What does the script say when it does retrieve the email?

[Jafo232]

Originally Posted by bashy

hi..

It says

Loading Directly.
Ignoring ntlworld.com
done processed 1 of 1 mails

Then you didn't enter ntlworld.com into the "Domains to accept email from" setting.. It is ignoring your email..

[bashy]

But....

My email.....Oh i see now...just for the test, add NTL...ok 2 secs lol

Originally Posted by Jafo232

Then you didn't enter ntlworld.com into the "Domains to accept email from" setting.. It is ignoring your email..